Methods and system to create applications and distribute applications to a remote device

ABSTRACT

A remotely accessible integrated development environment, and a sub-system for deploying applications to a remote device is disclosed. The sub-system may further comprise a rendering engine which is configured based upon a platform of the remote device, wherein the rendering engine is configured to communicate with, and receive applications from, a remotely accessible application server.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/890,502, entitled “Method and System to Design, Create,Manage, Find, and Distribute Applications for Multiple Devices using aWeb Browser,” filed Feb. 19, 2007, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention generally relates to distributing an application to aremote device, and more particularly, to developing applications on aserver via a web browser and sending the applications to a remote devicehaving a rendering engine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The design and development of computer applications typically includes aset of other programs such as text editors, language compilers, userinterface layout programs, an operating system, and various other tools.Prior to application development, such programs are installed andconfigured on a computer accessible to the developer, and in most cases,such programs are installed on a local computer workstation. Theapplication developer usually has knowledge of the programming language,the handling of the development tools, the remote device's operatingsystem, and available application programming interfaces. Theapplication developer also typically has systems and tools for debuggingapplications. When ready for deployment, the application developer usesthe tools and methods for distributing the finished application toremote devices.

A need exists for a remotely accessible integrated developmentenvironment for application development. Moreover, a need exists fordebugging and testing systems that are remotely accessible. A need alsoexists for deployment methods and systems that can deploy applicationsto various remote devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to various aspects and in various embodiments, the presentinvention relates to a system which includes a remotely accessibleintegrated development environment comprising a remotely accessibleapplication server configured to communicate with a web browser, whereinthe remotely accessible application server is configured to communicatewith a sub-system for deploying applications to a remote device. Thesub-system may further comprise a rendering engine, the applicationserver may further comprise a debugging environment and the remotedevice may further comprise a cellular phone.

The present invention may also include a system for executingapplications on a remote device comprising a rendering engine configuredbased upon a platform of the remote device, wherein the rendering engineis configured to communicate with, and receive applications from, aremotely accessible application server.

In another embodiment, the present invention includes a method of usinga remote device comprising receiving an application from a sub-systemfor deploying applications to the remote device, wherein the applicationwas created by a remotely accessible integrated development environmentand, executing the application on the remote device. The method mayfurther comprise downloading an application via the world wide web.

In another embodiment, the present invention includes a method forsending an application to a remote device by selecting an applicationfrom a predefined list of applications on a webpage and/or submittingcode for the application on a webpage, then sending the application tothe remote device. The method may further comprise receiving amodification to the application and saving the alteration to theapplication on a computer readable medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary system diagram, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for selecting andsearching for an application, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for receiving anapplication reference and launching the application, in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary page layout for the application design componentof the system, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for transforming thedevice-independent common application representation into a formexecutable by the device, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, the system includes a remotely accessible integrateddevelopment environment for application development, deployment,debugging and/or management. In one embodiment, the application isdesigned and created by using a graphical user interface withoutnecessarily employing a textual programming language and knowledge ofsuch language. For immediate feedback and for debugging purposes, thecurrent state of the application is optionally reflected simultaneouslyin the Web browser. The need for the installation of tools and theknowledge of their handling is significantly reduced or eliminated. Auser may deploy an application with ease. According to various aspectsof the present invention, the application to be deployed is translatedfor the selected remote device and either pushed or pulled to the remotedevice. The knowledge of remote devices, their operating system, andruntime environment is embodied in the system, so the need for suchskills are minimized or eliminated. As such, the invention enables alarger number of users to create applications which are sent to a remotedevice.

A remote device may include any software and/or hardware suitablyconfigured to receive an application. Exemplary remote devices includepersonal digital assistants, transponders, radio devices, mobile phones,cellular phones, personal computers, music players, video players,gaming consoles, web pages in browsers, proprietary media technologies,animation player technologies, in-car navigational systems, commercialadvertising panels, and/or television sets.

Applications, as used herein, include any set of computing instructions.Applications instruct an electronic device to perform specifiedfunctions. Applications typically contain logic and methods foraccessing, manipulating, and storing data. Examples of applicationsinclude word processors, web browsers, email clients, games (e.g., chessgames, etc), and media players. Applications may contain instructions ondisplaying and formatting data. For example, an application may instructan electronic device to access certain data and display it in aspecified format and/or at a specified time.

Applications may be transported via any method suitable for suchpurpose. For example, the applications may be downloaded to the remotedevice via a Web browser or may be transported to the device using a“push” type operation via a network protocol over a cable or wirelessinfrastructure. Possible means for pushing an application or applicationreference include, but are not limited to, email, embedding in a Webpage, part of an RSS feed, a WAP™ push, or a Bluetooth™ transmission.The system for deploying applications to remote devices may optionallyinclude a runtime environment for the application. A runtime environmentis software that allows a remote device to execute application code.

The method and system allows application development within a Webbrowser without installation (or minimal installation) of any localprogramming software and with minimal or no knowledge of a programminglanguage. The application is designed, created, and/or maintained byusing a graphical user interface within the Web browser. The applicationcan also be used and verified in a simulated target environment in theWeb browser while developing the application. In one embodiment, theapplication is stored together with its informal textual description inan application repository where the application may be searched for andoptionally shared or manipulated by all or a subset of all users of thesystem. The application is stored in a device-independent form such thatit may be run on any supported remote device, including some that do notexist at the time of creating the application. The application istranslated (e.g., upon selection of an instruction key) for the selectedtarget environment or remote device, downloaded, and executed.Applications may be either downloaded by the Web browser or transferredto the device using, e.g., a wired or wireless connection or can bedownloaded and installed by the device itself.

The present invention enables a user to design, create, manage, find,and/or distribute applications for multiple devices using a Web browser.Local installation of tools or of a development or execution environmentis not necessary. In this regard, the description that follows setsforth various exemplary embodiments of the invention only, and is notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the following description is intended toprovide convenient illustrations for implementing different embodimentsof the invention. As will become apparent, various changes may be madein the function and arrangement of the elements described in theseembodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. For example, changes may be made in the design andarrangement of the elements described in the preferred embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes referenceto the accompanying drawings and pictures, which show the exemplaryembodiment by way of illustration and its best mode. While theseexemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable thoseskilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understoodthat other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanicalchanges may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented forpurposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, thesteps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may beexecuted in any order and are not limited to the order presented.Moreover, any of the functions or steps may be outsourced to orperformed by one or more third parties. Furthermore, any reference tosingular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than onecomponent may include a singular embodiment.

For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, applicationdevelopment and other functional aspects of the systems (and componentsof the individual operating components of the systems) may not bedescribed in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown inthe various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplaryfunctional relationships and/or physical couplings between the variouselements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical system.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processorfor storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processorfor inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memoryand accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memoryfor displaying information derived from digital data processed by theprocessor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used hereinmay include: client data; merchant data; financial institution data;and/or like data useful in the operation of the system. As those skilledin the art will appreciate, user computer may include an operatingsystem (e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000, XP, Vista, OS2, UNIX, Linux,Solaris, MacOS, etc.) as well as various conventional support softwareand drivers typically associated with computers. The computer mayinclude any suitable personal computer, network computer, workstation,minicomputer, mainframe or the like. User computer can be in a home orbusiness environment with access to a network. In an exemplaryembodiment, access is through a network or the Internet through acommercially-available web-browser software package.

As used herein, the term “network” includes any electroniccommunications system or method which incorporates hardware and/orsoftware components. Communication among the parties may be accomplishedthrough any suitable communication channels, such as, for example, atelephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet, point ofinteraction device (point of sale device, personal digital assistant(e.g., Palm Pilot®, Blackberry®), cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), onlinecommunications, satellite communications, off-line communications,wireless communications, transponder communications, local area network(LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network (VPN), networkedor linked devices, keyboard, mouse and/or any suitable communication ordata input modality. Moreover, although the system is frequentlydescribed herein as being implemented with TCP/IP communicationsprotocols, the system may also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk,IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI or any number of existing or future protocols. If thenetwork is in the nature of a public network, such as the Internet, itmay be advantageous to presume the network to be insecure and open toeavesdroppers. Specific information related to the protocols, standards,and application software utilized in connection with the Internet isgenerally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not bedetailed herein. See, for example, Dilip Naik, Internet Standards andProtocols (1998); Java 2 Complete, various authors, (Sybex 1999);Deborah Ray and Eric Ray, Mastering HTML 4.0 (1997); and Loshin, TCP/IPClearly Explained (1997) and David Gourley and Brian Totty, HTTP, TheDefinitive Guide (2002), the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

The various system components may be independently, separately orcollectively suitably coupled to the network via data links whichincludes, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider(ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection withstandard modem communication, cable modem, Dish networks, ISDN, DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods, see,e.g., Gilbert Held, Understanding Data Communications (1996), which ishereby incorporated by reference. It is noted that the network may beimplemented as other types of networks, such as an interactivetelevision (ITV) network. Moreover, the system contemplates its use overany network having similar functionality described herein. Variouscomponents of the present invention need not be in constantcommunication with a network but, in various embodiments, may onlytransiently be connected to a network.

As used herein, “transmit” may include sending electronic data from onesystem component to another over a network connection. Additionally, asused herein, “data” may include encompassing information such ascommands, queries, files, data for storage, and the like in digital orany other form.

The system contemplates uses in association with web services, utilitycomputing, pervasive and individualized computing, security and identitysolutions, autonomic computing, commodity computing, mobility andwireless solutions, open source, biometrics, grid computing and/or meshcomputing.

Any databases discussed herein may include relational, hierarchical,graphical, or object-oriented structure and/or any other databaseconfigurations. Common database products that may be used to implementthe databases include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), various databaseproducts available from Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.),Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server by Microsoft Corporation(Redmond, Wash.), MySQL, or any other suitable database product.Moreover, the databases may be organized in any suitable manner, forexample, as data tables or lookup tables. Each record may be a singlefile, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or any otherdata structure. Association of certain data may be accomplished throughany desired data association technique such as those known or practicedin the art. For example, the association may be accomplished eithermanually or automatically. Automatic association techniques may include,for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL,using a key field in the tables to speed searches, sequential searchesthrough all the tables and files, sorting records in the file accordingto a known order to simplify lookup, and/or the like. The associationstep may be accomplished by a database merge function, for example,using a “key field” in pre-selected databases or data sectors.

More particularly, a “key field” partitions the database according tothe high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example,certain types of data may be designated as a key field in a plurality ofrelated data tables and the data tables may then be linked on the basisof the type of data in the key field. The data corresponding to the keyfield in each of the linked data tables is preferably the same or of thesame type. However, data tables having similar, though not identical,data in the key fields may also be linked by using AGREP, for example.In accordance with one embodiment, any suitable data storage techniquemay be utilized to store data without a standard format. Data sets maybe stored using any suitable technique, including, for example, storingindividual files using an ISO/IEC 7816-4 file structure; implementing adomain whereby a dedicated file is selected that exposes one or moreelementary files containing one or more data sets; using data setsstored in individual files using a hierarchical filing system; data setsstored as records in a single file (including compression, SQLaccessible, hashed via one or more keys, numeric, alphabetical by firsttuple, etc.); Binary Large Object (BLOB); stored as ungrouped dataelements encoded using ISO/IEC 7816-6 data elements; stored as ungroupeddata elements encoded using ISO/IEC Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1) asin ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825; and/or other proprietary techniques that mayinclude fractal compression methods, image compression methods, etc.

In one exemplary embodiment, the ability to store a wide variety ofinformation in different formats is facilitated by storing theinformation as a BLOB. Thus, any binary information can be stored in astorage space associated with a data set. As discussed above, the binaryinformation may be stored on the financial transaction instrument orexternal to but affiliated with the financial transaction instrument.The BLOB method may store data sets as ungrouped data elements formattedas a block of binary via a fixed memory offset using either fixedstorage allocation, circular queue techniques, or best practices withrespect to memory management (e.g., paged memory, least recently used,etc.). By using BLOB methods, the ability to store various data setsthat have different formats facilitates the storage of data associatedwith the financial transaction instrument by multiple and unrelatedowners of the data sets. For example, a first data set which may bestored may be provided by a first party, a second data set which may bestored may be provided by an unrelated second party, and yet a thirddata set which may be stored, may be provided by an third partyunrelated to the first and second party. Each of these three exemplarydata sets may contain different information that is stored usingdifferent data storage formats and/or techniques. Further, each data setmay contain subsets of data that also may be distinct from othersubsets.

As stated above, in various embodiments, the data can be stored withoutregard to a common format. However, in one exemplary embodiment, thedata set (e.g., BLOB) may be annotated in a standard manner whenprovided for manipulating the data onto the financial transactioninstrument. The annotation may comprise a short header, trailer, orother appropriate indicator related to each data set that is configuredto convey information useful in managing the various data sets. Forexample, the annotation may be called a “condition header”, “header”,“trailer”, or “status”, herein, and may comprise an indication of thestatus of the data set or may include an identifier correlated to aspecific issuer or owner of the data. In one example, the first threebytes of each data set BLOB may be configured or configurable toindicate the status of that particular data set; e.g., LOADED,INITIALIZED, READY, BLOCKED, REMOVABLE, or DELETED. Subsequent bytes ofdata may be used to indicate for example, the identity of the issuer,user, transaction/membership account identifier or the like. Each ofthese condition annotations are further discussed herein.

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of statusinformation as well as various other purposes. For example, the data setannotation may include security information establishing access levels.The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certainindividuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to accessdata sets, or to permit access to specific data sets based on thetransaction, merchant, issuer, user or the like. Furthermore, thesecurity information may restrict/permit only certain actions such asaccessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, thedata set annotation indicates that only the data set owner or the userare permitted to delete a data set, various identified users may bepermitted to access the data set for reading, and others are altogetherexcluded from accessing the data set. However, other access restrictionparameters may also be used allowing various entities to access a dataset with various permission levels as appropriate.

The data, including the header or trailer may be received by a standalone interaction device configured to add, delete, modify, or augmentthe data in accordance with the header or trailer. As such, in oneembodiment, the header or trailer is not stored on the transactiondevice along with the associated issuer-owned data but instead theappropriate action may be taken by providing to the transactioninstrument user at the stand alone device, the appropriate option forthe action to be taken. The system may contemplate a data storagearrangement wherein the header or trailer, or header or trailer history,of the data is stored on the transaction instrument in relation to theappropriate data.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons,any databases, systems, devices, servers or other components of thesystem may consist of any combination thereof at a single location or atmultiple locations, wherein each database or system includes any ofvarious suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes,encryption, decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

The computing unit of the web client may be further equipped with anInternet browser connected to the Internet or an intranet using standarddial-up, cable, DSL or any other Internet protocol known in the art.Transactions originating at a web client may pass through a firewall inorder to prevent unauthorized access from users of other networks.Further, additional firewalls may be deployed between the varyingcomponents of CMS to further enhance security.

Firewall may include any hardware and/or software suitably configured toprotect CMS components and/or enterprise computing resources from usersof other networks. Further, a firewall may be configured to limit orrestrict access to various systems and components behind the firewallfor web clients connecting through a web server. Firewall may reside invarying configurations including Stateful Inspection, Proxy based andPacket Filtering among others. Firewall may be integrated within an webserver or any other CMS components or may further reside as a separateentity.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. Inone embodiment, the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS),Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), and Microsoft SQL Server, are usedin conjunction with the Microsoft operating system, Microsoft NT webserver software, a Microsoft SQL Server database system, and a MicrosoftCommerce Server. Additionally, components such as Access or MicrosoftSQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc., may be usedto provide an Active Data Object (ADO) compliant database managementsystem.

Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases or displaysdiscussed herein may be facilitated through a website having web pages.The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the typeof documents and applications that might be used to interact with theuser. For example, a typical website might include, in addition tostandard HTML documents, various forms, Java applets, JavaScript, activeserver pages (ASP), asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), commongateway interface scripts (CGI), extensible markup language (XML),dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), helper applications,plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a web service that receivesa request from a web server, the request including a URL(http://yahoo.com/stockquotes/ge) and an IP address (123.56.789.234).The web server retrieves the appropriate web pages and sends the data orapplications for the web pages to the IP address. Web services areapplications that are capable of interacting with other applicationsover a communications means, such as the internet. Web services aretypically based on standards or protocols such as XML, SOAP, WSDL andUDDI. Web services methods are well known in the art, and are covered inmany standard texts. See, e.g., Alex Nghiem, IT Web Services: A Roadmapfor the Enterprise (2003), hereby incorporated by reference.

Practitioners will also appreciate that there are a number of methodsfor displaying data within a browser-based document. Data may berepresented as standard text or within a fixed list, scrollable list,drop-down list, editable text field, fixed text field, pop-up window,and the like. Likewise, there are a number of methods available formodifying data in a web page such as, for example, free text entry usinga keyboard, selection of menu items, check boxes, option boxes, and thelike.

The system and method may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, screen shots, optional selections and variousprocessing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocksmay be realized by any number of hardware and/or software componentsconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, the systemmay employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements,processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, whichmay carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of the system may be implemented with any programming orscripting language such as C, C++, Macromedia Cold Fusion, MicrosoftActive Server Pages, Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, Visual Basic, SQLStored Procedures, extensible markup language (XML), with the variousalgorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures,objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, itshould be noted that the system may employ any number of conventionaltechniques for data transmission, signaling, data processing, networkcontrol, and the like. Still further, the system could be used to detector prevent security issues with a client-side scripting language, suchas JavaScript, VBScript or the like. For a basic introduction ofcryptography and network security, see any of the following references:(1) “Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C,”by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition,1995); (2) “Java Cryptography” by Jonathan Knudson, published byO'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3) “Cryptography & Network Security:Principles & Practice” by William Stallings, published by Prentice Hall;all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Alternatively, or in combination, the system, apparatus, and methods touse thereof may include a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), internetenabled wireless phone or the like. The system and apparatus may be in ahome or business environment with access to a network. In an exemplaryembodiment, access is through the Internet, through acommercially-available web browser software package. The host computermay provide a suitable website or other Internet-based graphical userinterface which is accessible by the system and apparatus. In oneembodiment, the Internet Information Server, Microsoft TransactionServer, and Microsoft SQL Server, are used in conjunction with theMicrosoft operating system, Microsoft NT web server software, aMicrosoft SQL database system, and a Microsoft Commerce Server.Additionally, components such as Oracle, MySQL, Intervase™, etc., may beused to provide database management system. The term “webpage” as it isused herein is not meant to limit the type of documents and applicationsthat might be used to interact with the user. For example, a typicalwebsite might include, in addition to standard HTML documents, variousforms, Java applets, Javascript, active server pages (ASP), AJAX(Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) applications, common gateway interfacescripts (CGI), extensible markup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascadingstyle sheets (CSS), helper applications, plug-ins, and the like.

The users may interact with the system, apparatus, and methods to usethereof via any input device such as a keyboard, mouse, kiosk, personaldigital assistant, handheld computer, cellular phone and/or the like.Similarly, the invention could be used in conjunction with any type ofpersonal computer, network computer, workstation, minicomputer,mainframe, cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheldcomputer, “smart phone” (such as, for example, a RIM™ BlackBerry™ Palm™or Treo™) or the like running any operating system such as any versionof Windows, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows98, Windows 95, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Windows Server 2003, PalmOS, MacOS, OS/2, BeOS, Linux, UNIX Solaris or the like.

Now referring to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 andreferring to Figures herein, exemplary, but representative examples ofthe systems and methods of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a remotely accessibleintegrated development environment (“IDE”), and a system for deployingapplications to remote devices.

An IDE is any software and/or hardware suitably configured to allow auser to develop software. Developing software typically involves thecreation of logic to access and manipulate data. The remotely accessibleIDE user interface may, for example, comprise a sequence of webpages,one of which may be displayed at a single time. A page may contain pageelements. Page elements are components of the page that allow a user tointeract with the IDE. Examples of interaction include, for example,typing text, clicking on-screen buttons that perform automated tasks,starting a debugging or emulation environment, deploying applications toremote devices, and saving a user's work for later use or modification.Some page elements are capable of accessing other web servers and theirservices 8, that are accessible to the application server via a networkas shown in FIG. 1. Some page elements allow access to remote databasesor to local user-and application-specific databases 10, 7 that areaccessible to the application server via a network. Local databases maybe automatically created when being used by the application. Access tothe databases may be restricted to either one user or a group of users.

In another embodiment, an IDE includes a debugging environment(alternately referred to as an emulator), which is any hardware and/orsoftware suitably configured to remove or minimize defects. Thedebugging environment allows the user to test code to verify that it isfree from defects. The debugging environment is capable of usingapplication code created in the IDE and simulating code execution. Invarious embodiments, the debugging environment reflects the currentstate of the application as it is being created or modified. In variousembodiments, the debugging environment simulates application executionon a remote device. In those embodiments, the properties andcapabilities of the remote device is simulated in the debuggingenvironment. During application execution, the debugging environment mayaccess Web servers 4, databases 10, 7, and an application server 9.

A remotely accessible IDE is any IDE that a user can access and/or useremotely. Remote use is any use where a user interacts with softwarethat is not being executed on a local device. Remote use typicallyoccurs over a network via protocols discussed above. The logic, methods,and functions of an IDE may be stored on an application server 9. Anapplication server 9 is any computing device that is capable of housingthe logic, methods, and functions of an IDE. Any data that the IDErequires during the course of its use need not be stored on theapplication server, but may be stored in any suitable computer storagedevice that the application server may access. An example of remote useis a user employing a web browser to access an IDE across the Internet.Development is then performed by the user within the browser.Development may be done in any programming language. A commonapplication representation may be used to refer to the applicationswritten by the user. The web browser need not be executed on a personalcomputer, but could instead be executed on any device capable of runninga web browser, for example a cellular phone or PDA.

In various embodiments, the remotely accessible IDE is accessible to theuser via a Web browser 20 for designing and editing applications asdepicted in FIG. 3. The user interface of the remotely accessible IDEmay contain a name and an informal description of the application 21.The application may be saved to, or reloaded from, the applicationserver 23. Several methods of composition may be employed. The userinterface of the remotely accessible IDE may contain controls 27 for,e.g., adding new pages, deleting existing pages, and specifying thestart page. The user interface is built from a number of page elementssuch as, for example, elements 29 for output, input, definition ofintermediate results, database manipulation, Web service access, storagelocal to the device, and/or flow control. A set of standard pageelements may be predefined. Other page elements may be added into therunning remotely accessible IDE by accessing an internal API to providethe functionality, and display the associated controls in theapplication designer. In embodiments that contain a debuggingenvironment, the current state of the application and its runtimebehavior may be immediately visible in the debugging environment 22, 28.In various embodiments, when the debugging environment is used inconjunction with a system for deploying applications to remote devices,the debugging environment displays a simulation of the currentapplication for each target.

In one embodiment, the debugging environment is capable of running intwo modes 24, namely design mode and run mode. In design mode, thedebugging environment allows a user to click on a page element anddisplay an editor for changing the parameters of the chosen element. Inrun mode, the debugging environment allows a user to interact with theapplication being debugged.

According to various embodiments, the IDE contains a system for storinguser-created applications and/or administering user groups. Applicationsmay be stored in a server-side application repository 12. The system forstoring user-created applications may be implemented with a database oroperating system directory structure. The system for storinguser-created applications may store applications as source code or inexecuted form. The system for storing user-created applications mayoptionally permit searching for keywords in the application title or itsinformal description. The system for storing user-created applicationsmay optionally allow a pool of applications to be collected and stored.The pool of application would be provided by their authors for use byother users. The system for storing user-created applications mayoptionally allow users who did not originally author an application tomodify it, if the original author so allows. The system for storinguser-created applications may be referred to as an application retrievalsystem. When a user enters the application retrieval system, as depictedin FIG. 2, preselected applications may be presented 13. Applicationsmay be selected (Step 14) by any characteristic, including for example,the most often used applications, those rated best by other users,and/or editor's choices. A user may also search for an application byusing search criteria (Step 15) such as, for example, application title,application description matching given keywords, author, rating by otherusers, frequency of use, use of a given kind of element of theapplication, elements of the application accessing given Web servers ordata sources, provider and/or manufacturer of application elements. Theapplication retrieval system is capable of processing this search anddisplaying results as a new list of applications. A user may choose tomaintain or use an application (Step 16).

The system for administering user groups may allow the creation ofclosed user groups and open user groups. A closed user group is a usergroup whose applications are not allowed to be accessed by those outsidethe group without authorization. The system for administering usergroups may allow the creation of closed user groups. An open user groupis a user group whose applications are allowed to be accessed by thoseoutside the group without authorization. The system for administeringuser groups may also include other mechanisms for user creation,monitoring, and control. The system for administering user groupsenhances the benefits of collaborative development. Collaborationbetween authors is no longer restricted to sharing source code orcompiled parts of an application. Conventional systems of softwaredevelopment either partition applications into separate parts betweenauthors for concurrent development or force authors to work onoverlapping parts sequentially. The remotely accessible IDE, inembodiments containing a system for administering user groups, allowsseveral authors to work on the same application on a finer level ofgranularity than conventional systems. Concurrent applicationmodification is possible according to various aspects of the presentinvention. The results are immediately visible to all participatingauthors within their development environment and remote devicesimulators. Collaboration occurs on the level of the application as awhole and its running instance, no longer on a preliminary level likethe source code level.

The Application Retrieval system stores applications in adevice-independent format, the common application representation. Thedebugging environment runs within the Web browser. In variousembodiments, the remotely accessible IDE is implemented using atechnology accessible by a web browser, for example, JavaScript, Ajax,Java™-Applet, Adobe Flash™, or Microsoft Active-X™. The remotelyaccessible IDE operates on the common application representation andexecutes it even while the application is modified.

In various embodiments, the remotely accessible IDE may be accessed byways other than a web browser. Application development could beperformed by a either a dedicated application or a viewer application onthe client side. Such a client cooperates with a server to compose,maintain, and manage the application. Examples for a dedicatedapplication are clients written in Java™ or C++ running on a personalcomputer which communicate with a server using the Internet. A dedicatedapplication may further comprises a debugging environment. A viewerapplication may be written in, for example, Adobe Flash™ technology andperforming essentially the same tasks as the dedicated clientapplication. In other embodiments, the remotely accessible IDE may beaccessed via web browsers running on devices that are not personalcomputers, such as, for example, a mobile device, a gaming console and aTV set.

A system for deploying applications to remote devices may be any systemthat is capable of transporting an application to a remote device. Invarious embodiments, the system for deploying applications receives anapplication reference (Step 19) and the user selects an application(Step 17). The user may also preview or deploy the application (Step18). For example, as depicted in FIG. 4, a mobile phone may be used asthe remote device which is equipped with a screen for graphicapplication output 22 and various keys for input 28. Other remotedevices may vary in screen resolution, orientation or color depth andmeans of input like a touch screen, a pointer device, or a numeric oralphanumeric keyboard. Like most modern mobile phones, the depictedsimulator also offers customizable buttons 26. In various embodiments,at each stage of the application design, the application can betranslated to and generated for the real, i.e. non-simulated, remotedevice by instructing the system accordingly, for example, by pressing abutton 25 and downloading the application.

The deployment of the application differs for the various remotedevices. As an example, for Java™-enabled mobile phones at least fivepossibilities are offered: The application itself or an applicationdescriptor is downloaded by the Web browser and then transferred to thephone using a cable or wireless connection. Alternatively, a Web URL isdisplayed where the application can be downloaded by the phone over theair. In addition, either the application or its descriptor are sent inan MMS or SMS message to the phone. Also, a reference to the applicationdescriptor can be sent to the phone as a WAP Service Indication Push.

According to various aspects of the present invention in variousembodiments, the remotely accessible IDE may convert applications into aformat executable on a remote device. For example, a remote device maybe a Java™-enabled portable device using Java™ Micro Edition (J2ME).Other remote devices and environments use an analogous scheme, forexample, C++-code for Symbian-OS-based devices or for a standalonedesktop computer application. As depicted in FIG. 5, the remotelyaccessible IDE is capable of translating the common applicationrepresentation 31 into J2ME source code (Step 33). Parts of the sourcecode not only depend on the application but also on the selected remotedevice category. These dependencies are captured by the remotelyaccessible IDE along with other device-specific attributes in a devicedatabase 32. Device-specific and device-independent source-code is thencompiled by a Java™ compiler 36 on the application server. The runtimeenvironment and internal application programming interface is providedby a framework. The framework libraries 34 depend on the remote devicecapabilities. In some circumstances, remote device storage space is at apremium and the application must be kept as small as possible. For bothreasons the device database also controls the selection of the requiredframework libraries 37. After compilation the class files arepreverified (Step 39), optimized (Step 47) by various means, e.g., toeliminate not required portions of code and shortening identifiers,optionally obfuscated (Step 48) to prevent third parties fromreconstructing the original source code, and, together with the manifest38 that contains configuration-specific parameters 35, packaged (Step40) into a target-specific application file 43. Depending on theapplication requirements, e.g., access to privileged functions on thedevice, the application may be digitally signed (Step 41). Thissignature, a download URL for the application, and further configurationparameters 35, e.g., a server URL or a database connection address,constitute an application descriptor file. Both descriptor andapplication may be stored in a cache 44 and may now be downloaded by theWeb browser 45 or a remote device 46. Storage in an application cacheavoids unnecessary expensive repetition of this process in case of anunchanged combination of application and selected remote devicecategory.

In one embodiment, the system includes a Web application serverincluding a Java™ servlet engine and an HTML page server, an SQLdatabase, an Ajax-based client for application design, and threedifferent methods of executing applications on a remote device named“rendering engines.” In various embodiments of the present invention,many rendering engines are possible, such as, for example, for Symbian™,BREW™, Microsoft Windows Mobile™, Adobe Flash™, Apple iPhone™, MicrosoftWindows™, Linux, Apple MacOS™, Sun Microsystems JavaFX™, GoogleAndroid™. The three rendering engines execute an application byinterpreting the common application representation on a Java™-enabledmobile phone (“dynamic engine”), by fully translating the commonapplication representation on the server into Java™ source code and thenrunning it on a phone (“static engine”), and by interpreting the commonapplication representation in the Web browser using Javascript (thedebugging environment).

The dynamic rendering engine offers the useful property of being able toupdate or even completely rewrite the application and install it on thedevice on the fly over the air. This can be done without any userinteraction. However, for various reasons, including security reasons,the user may be asked whether he wants to update the application.Applications based on some technologies, for example, J2ME, areinstalled in a more complicated process which sometimes exceeds theuser's ability to follow the process successfully. As the dynamicrendering engine is be able to execute potentially any arbitraryapplication, not only the one currently being developed, the renderingengine provides most of or the full interpretative environment, forexample, the complete runtime and all libraries, regardless of theapplication. On the other hand, the static rendering engine may not beupdated as easily but is compiled on the server and thus only containsthose parts required by the application at hand. Hence, the overallapplication may be much smaller. For instance for a Java™-enabled mobilephone, a typical application based on the dynamic rendering engine isabout 230 kB big in contrast to the same application using the staticrendering engine using only about 85 kB.

According to various embodiments, a user contacts the remotelyaccessible IDE using his Web browser 2. The user may then choose tocreate an existing application or create and design a new one. If theuser selects to create and design a new application, the remotelyaccessible IDE provides a suitable environment. Depending on the user'sselection and preferences, the application may display only a portion ofavailable page elements.

According to various embodiments, the user may select a supported remotedevice 1. After selecting an application or having finished creating onethe application is translated into a form which the remote device isable to execute. When running the application the remote device itselfaccesses other Web servers 6, the databases 10, 7, and the applicationserver 5.

According to various embodiments, an example of a full development cyclestarting from the initial design to running the application on a remotedevice would look as follows. The user enters a URL in his Web browser.The user is presented with the choices of running various tutorialsexplaining different aspects of the designer tool, to import and exportapplications from other servers, to create a new application, and tosearch for existing applications.

When selecting one of the latter two choices, the designer page isloaded from a the remotely accessible IDE system, such as in the form ofa JSP™ page. The page contains an Ajax client running in the Web browserand comprises HTML and JavaScript. The user may name the application andoptionally provide a brief textual description. An application maycomprise “pages” intended to be presented on the remote device. The usermay chose to create a new application page. The user may add elements tothe page. In various embodiments, the remotely accessible IDE's userinterface displays buttons to the user, such as, for example, “AddOutput”, “Add Input”, “Add Command”, “Add Variable”, “Add SQLStatement”, “Add Script”, and adding custom modules. In the presentembodiment, “Add Output” inserts a display field to be displayed on aremote device. A display field may comprise the playback of an audio orvideo clip, for example. A display field could contain static text, suchas “Hello, world.”, the contents of a variable, the result of a scriptexpression, the result of an SQL statement, a Web resource whichincludes various content types ranging from simple text to video oraudio, Web page elements selected interactively by point-and-click fromanother Website, and an XML request. In the present embodiment, “AddInput” allows a user to enter values, for example, a text, a file on aremote device to upload, a photo, and an audio or video clip. Such avalue is then assigned to a named variable. For the user's convenience,input values can be stored persistently across invocations of anapplication. In the present embodiment, “Add Command” inserts an elementwhich, when pressed by the user, switches to another application page.On a remote device, a command may be rendered as a soft button or a menuitem. In the present embodiment, “Add Variable” adds and implicitlydefines a named variable which may then be used in, for example, ascript or expanded in other elements like an output element. Namedvariables can contain values of many types, for example, text, numbers,lists, associative maps, blobs, or references to those values. Thosevalues may be stored either on the device or on server side. Forinstance, due to potential resource limitations on a remote device, alarger binary value, for example a blob like a video clip, is typicallytransferred to the server when being recorded and later referenced bythe variable as a value already residing on the server.

Such a mode of processing permits the application as executed on thephone to handle variables without having to know where the referenceddata itself resides, on the device or on the server or still in transitover the air. In the present embodiment, “Add SQL Statement” allows forsubmitting SQL statements which are executed on the server side.Typically, these statements create tables or insert data into tableswhereas select-statements usually appear as output elements or as thevalue for a variable. In the present embodiment, “Add Script” inserts apiece of source code formulated in a language closely resemblingJavascript. The choice of Javascript for the prototype was merely basedon the widespread knowledge of this language. In other embodiments, anyother object-oriented or procedural language will be adequate as well.In embodiments where a dynamic rendering engine is used, applicationscripts are parsed and interpreted on a target device at runtime.

In embodiments where a static rendering engine is used, scripts aretranslated into source code, for example for J2ME, at compile time onthe server and included in the application. In various embodiments, thepresent invention allows for custom modules to be provided by thirdparties as plugins into the designer tool. In various embodiments, theremotely accessible IDE comprises an API that allows third parties toproduce plugins. In one embodiment, a plugin for displaying andactivating Google AdSense™ advertisements on the device is provided asan example. While the user is manipulating pages and elements, theresults are immediately displayed within the debugging environment whichconcurrently runs in the same Web browser page.

In various embodiments, the user saves the application using theapplication retrieval system such that others may use it later. Theapplication retrieval system may be then implicitly versioned. Theapplication retrieval system allows the user to chose to mark theapplication as confidential and share it only with a limited number ofother users. The application retrieval system allows the user to assignglobal properties, for example, whether or not to digitally sign theapplication for accessing privileged functionality on the device, toblock advertisements, or to share the underlying SQL database with otherusers or to have one database per user instead.

In various embodiments, the user may select a rendering engine, forexample, dynamic or static, and choose “To Device” which then createsthe application for the remote device. The generation process is shownin FIG. 5. In various embodiments, the generation process is the samefor both the dynamic and static rendering engine. Typically, though,fewer lines of code are generated for the same application in step 33 ifthe dynamic rendering engine is chosen. This is because the staticrendering engine contains the complete application, i.e., source codesuitable for a remote device with all pages and elements. For thedynamic rendering engine, a more sparse code is produced that consistsonly of a few administrative properties like name, author, and versionof the application. The application itself is included in original form,i.e., as the common application representation without being translatedinto code directly executable by a remote device. In some embodiments,this inclusion could be spared as when running on a remote device, thegenerated application is able to check for the latest version and iscapable of retrieving the most current version. By using the samemechanism, the system could also initially load the common applicationrepresentation prior to the very first application run. Thisfunctionality, however, would require a remote device to have a workingdata connection to the application server when being run for the firsttime. In order to omit this prerequisite, the user's application isalready included in the package. In various embodiments, when the usermakes changes to the application and presses “To Device” for anothertime, devices that already have downloaded a previous version of it willrecognize the change and update the application without userintervention when running the application. To save transmission cost andbandwidth the version check may be piggy-backed on other communicationof the device with the server.

The inventions set forth above are subject to many modifications andchanges without departing from the spirit, scope or essentialcharacteristics thereof. Other embodiments of this invention will beobvious to those skilled in the art in view of the above disclosure.Thus, the embodiments explained above should be considered in allrespect as being illustrative rather than restrictive of the scope ofthe inventions as defined in the appended claims.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of the invention. The scope of the invention isaccordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, inwhich reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean“one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one ormore.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to ‘at least one of A, B, and C’is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted tomean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may bepresent in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, orthat any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in asingle embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and Band C. Although the invention has been described as a method, it iscontemplated that it may be embodied as computer program instructions ona tangible computer-readable carrier, such as a magnetic or opticalmemory or a magnetic or optical disk. All structural, chemical, andfunctional equivalents to the elements of the above-described exemplaryembodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is not necessary for adevice or method to address each and every problem sought to be solvedby the present invention, for it to be encompassed by the presentclaims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in thepresent disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardlessof whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recitedin the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under theprovisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element isexpressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, theterms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does notinclude only those elements but may include other elements not expresslylisted or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

1. A system for a remotely accessible integrated development environmentcomprising: a remotely accessible application server configured tocommunicate with a web browser, wherein said remotely accessibleapplication server is configured to communicate with a sub-system fordeploying applications to a remote device.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein said sub-system comprises a rendering engine.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said sub-system further comprises at least one of: astatic rendering engine and a dynamic rendering engine.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein said at least one static rendering engine is configuredto receive compiled applications; and wherein said at least one dynamicrendering engine is configured to receive applications in source codeform.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein said sub-system comprises arendering engine and said sub-system further comprises a moduleconfigured to at least one of post to a website and push to saidrendering engine.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising adebugging environment.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein said debuggingenvironment is configured to receive a request to execute an applicationwithin said web browser.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein saiddebugging environment is configured to automatically execute anapplication within said web browser.
 9. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising an application retrieval system.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein said application retrieval system is configured to administeruser groups.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein said applicationretrieval system is configured to manage application retention.
 12. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said remote device is a cellular phone.
 13. Asystem for executing applications on a remote device comprising arendering engine configured based upon a platform of said remote device,wherein said rendering engine is configured to communicate with, andreceive applications from, a remotely accessible application server. 14.The system of claim 13, wherein said rendering engine is at least one ofstatic and dynamic.
 15. A method of using a remote device comprising:receiving an application from a sub-system for deploying applications tosaid remote device, wherein said application was created by a remotelyaccessible integrated development environment; and, executing saidapplication on said remote device.
 16. The method of claim 15, whereinat least one of said receiving and executing steps are facilitated witha rendering engine.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprisingdownloading an application via the world wide web.
 18. A method forsending an application to a remote device comprising: at least one ofselecting an application from a predefined list of applications on awebpage and submitting code for said application on a webpage; andsending said application to said remote device.
 19. The method of claim18, further comprising sending a simulated application to a web browser.20. The method of claim 18, further comprising: receiving a modificationto said application; and saving said alteration to said application on acomputer readable medium.